To be the most effective as a speaker, you need to use materials from a variety of sources. When you speak, you should draw from personal experiences and knowledge, from investigation, questioning, and interviews, and from resources of printed and digital media. The greater variety, the more convincing you will be because you can show you're connecting concepts and analyzing your logical thoughts. This speech will help you practice these skills.
The Quotation Speech has two solid objectives:
to encourage the use and development of previous knowledge within a speech.
to promote organization in speech writing.
We will practice this many times, first as a class, then with partners for you to get the feel of it, and finally individually. Each time you prepare this speech, you will follow these steps:
choose a quotation
determine the message or meaning behind what the quotation means. Take a stance if you need to; decide whether you agree or disagree with the message of the quotation.,
think of three people or events that are perfect examples of the position you took, and research facts about them. For the three people or events, you can use real people from history or current events, from your own personal experiences, or from novels and movies.
Practice Class Quotation: "To be great is to be misunderstood." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
After agreeing or disagreeing with this quotation, brainstorm a list of people who were misunderstood and because of that, either great or not so great. From that list, choose three and freewrite about those individuals, explaining how each was misunderstood. Write about their lives, giving specific examples to prove your point. By doing this, you connect the quotation with this person's life and strengthen your point.
With this free writing, you have just completed the body of your speech.
Organizing your speech The Introduction - Now that you have a better understanding of your quotation and who or what represents its meaning, it is time to organize your speech. Thinking of your stance of the message of the speech, write an analogy to show a similar situation which mimics your view of its meaning. You need to use that to grab people's attention. For example,"When I was little, I was a very shy child. I didn't want to draw attention to myself for any reason, positive or negative. I was the quiet observer. However, if there was something important I needed to do or say, I made sure my voice was heard with specific words to show the determination I had to get my way. My behavior is truly shows what Theodore Roosevelt meant when he stated, 'Speak softly and carry a big stick'."
From there, you link that to your quotation, as the above example indicates. At the end of your introduction, the last thing you should do is preview your points. "We can see this same concept in these events/people: Joe Smith, Sally Jones, and Group A."
The Body - With each point you deliver, you want to draw in the two things you've already provided about your topic: the attention getter which shows a basic illustration of the meaning and the words in the quotation itself. Continuing with this example, as I explain Joe Smith, I would talk about how reserved and humble he is, always speaking softly, observing what's is happening until he knows it is right to act. I would give a specific example of an event where I can explain what Joe did that illustrates speaking softly but having the tools necessary to drive the point home. Joe uses his powerful words when he needed to instead of all the time which would have drowned out the message he wanted to deliver. Restate the quotation and use specific words from it. Provide a logical thought process so we can see a clear connection between your person/event and the meaning of the quotation. At the end of each point, give one statement which seals the connection: "Because Joe spoke softly, when he became impassioned, people stood up, noticed, and followed."
The Conclusion - The essence of this conclusion is simply restating the introduction backwards. Review the points you've made with the people/events you talked about, explain the link back to your analogy and review the analogy/attention getter.
Presenting your speech You will be presenting your speech in a way that is EXTEMPORANEOUS. This means you are not writing out your entire speech or even sentences, but yet a brief outline from which you will speak. When you present, you can have a note card of no more than 50 words on it. For this speech, you should focus on HOW you act when you're presenting. That being said, much focus and attention will be placed on eye contact, transitional movement, gestures, and voice inflections.
The Quotation Speech has two solid objectives:
We will practice this many times, first as a class, then with partners for you to get the feel of it, and finally individually. Each time you prepare this speech, you will follow these steps:
Practice
Class Quotation:
"To be great is to be misunderstood." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
After agreeing or disagreeing with this quotation, brainstorm a list of people who were misunderstood and because of that, either great or not so great. From that list, choose three and freewrite about those individuals, explaining how each was misunderstood. Write about their lives, giving specific examples to prove your point. By doing this, you connect the quotation with this person's life and strengthen your point.
With this free writing, you have just completed the body of your speech.
Organizing your speech
The Introduction - Now that you have a better understanding of your quotation and who or what represents its meaning, it is time to organize your speech. Thinking of your stance of the message of the speech, write an analogy to show a similar situation which mimics your view of its meaning. You need to use that to grab people's attention. For example, "When I was little, I was a very shy child. I didn't want to draw attention to myself for any reason, positive or negative. I was the quiet observer. However, if there was something important I needed to do or say, I made sure my voice was heard with specific words to show the determination I had to get my way. My behavior is truly shows what Theodore Roosevelt meant when he stated, 'Speak softly and carry a big stick'."
From there, you link that to your quotation, as the above example indicates. At the end of your introduction, the last thing you should do is preview your points. "We can see this same concept in these events/people: Joe Smith, Sally Jones, and Group A."
The Body - With each point you deliver, you want to draw in the two things you've already provided about your topic: the attention getter which shows a basic illustration of the meaning and the words in the quotation itself. Continuing with this example, as I explain Joe Smith, I would talk about how reserved and humble he is, always speaking softly, observing what's is happening until he knows it is right to act. I would give a specific example of an event where I can explain what Joe did that illustrates speaking softly but having the tools necessary to drive the point home. Joe uses his powerful words when he needed to instead of all the time which would have drowned out the message he wanted to deliver. Restate the quotation and use specific words from it. Provide a logical thought process so we can see a clear connection between your person/event and the meaning of the quotation. At the end of each point, give one statement which seals the connection: "Because Joe spoke softly, when he became impassioned, people stood up, noticed, and followed."
The Conclusion - The essence of this conclusion is simply restating the introduction backwards. Review the points you've made with the people/events you talked about, explain the link back to your analogy and review the analogy/attention getter.
Presenting your speech
You will be presenting your speech in a way that is EXTEMPORANEOUS. This means you are not writing out your entire speech or even sentences, but yet a brief outline from which you will speak. When you present, you can have a note card of no more than 50 words on it. For this speech, you should focus on HOW you act when you're presenting. That being said, much focus and attention will be placed on eye contact, transitional movement, gestures, and voice inflections.
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